After Ike, FEMA Aid Is Hard To Come By

[hausdok]

Six weeks after Hurricane Ike ravaged Southeast Texas, federal officials have approved only about 13 percent of requests for money to repair damaged houses or replace ruined belongings.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has received more than 710,000 requests statewide, has provided almost $300 million for housing and other needs to more than 92,000 households.

Yet the agency continues to find the overwhelming majority of applicants ineligible, prompting widespread concerns that applicants are discouraged by unwieldy procedures and that the agency's staff and contractors don't always follow its publicly stated policies.

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